Bayer and Monsanto: a Marriage Made in Hell
May 27, 2016
Bayer and Monsanto: a Marriage Made in Hell
by Martha Rosenberg Ronnie Cummins
The two multinationals that teamed up during the Vietnam War to poison millions of people with its Agent Orange herbicideSt. Louis, Mo.-based Monsanto and Germanys Bayer AGare looking to become one.
Bayer has announced a bid to buy Monsanto in a deal that would expand Bayers GMO and pesticide holdings and add drugs to Monsantos global portfolio. Monsanto has rejected the latest bid, but the two are still in talks.
If Monsanto, perhaps the most hated GMO company in the world, joins hands with Bayer, one of the most hated Big Pharma corporations on Earth (whose evil deeds date back to World War I and the Nazi era), the newly formed seed-pesticide-drug behemoth would have combined annual sales of $67 billion.
Thats a staggering figure. But heres another, even more alarming: Combined, the new mega-chemical/seed company would control 29 percent of the worlds seed market and 24 percent of the pesticide market.
More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/05/27/bayer-and-monsanto-a-marriage-made-in-hell/
elleng
(131,459 posts)killing us all.
Todays_Illusion
(1,209 posts)they continue to have access to the government for influencing policy.
Their tax support comes in many frms, from that Farm Bill Ag insurance plan, to tax funded research contracts, to contracts for this and that along with the, tax support for low paying workers called E.I.T.C., and STAMP.
Of course they benefit from the Trade Agreements, enforced and supported with tax money, and the defense and intelligence costs that protect their global investments and enforce patents.
Archae
(46,379 posts)HuckleB
(35,773 posts)How quaint.
Archae
(46,379 posts)From Counterpunch's own pages...
Martha Rosenberg Ronnie Cummins
Martha Rosenberg is a contributing writer to Organic Consumers Association. Ronnie Cummins is international director of the Organic Consumers Association.
HuckleB
(35,773 posts)Last edited Sat May 28, 2016, 03:58 AM - Edit history (1)
It's truly sad to see it posted at DU. It's the opposite of progressive.
proverbialwisdom
(4,959 posts)QuickTake
Q&A: Bayer and Monsanto Both Carry Weight of History
by Laurence Arnold
May 24, 2016 9:23 AM PDT
As with any celebrity coupling, the proposed marriage of Bayer and Monsanto would combine two intriguing life stories, each with its share of unflattering chapters.
1. What is Bayers baggage?
Founded in 1863 by two friends who made dyes from coal-tar derivatives, Bayer introduced heroin as a cough remedy in 1896 and aspirin in 1899. (The companys online history mentions aspirin but not heroin.) In 1925, Bayer was folded into IG Farben, the German chemical conglomerate now remembered for its collaboration with Adolf Hitler during World War II. Bayer became independent again after the war. Its chief executive officer, Werner Baumann, says the Bayer name stands for "science, innovation and an utmost level of responsibility for societal needs."
2. What is Monsantos baggage?
Founded in 1901, it first produced food additives including the artificial sweetener saccharin. It was among the companies that manufactured Agent Orange, used as a defoliant by the U.S. in the Vietnam War, and until the late 1970s produced highly toxic polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. Now the worlds largest producer of genetically modified crops, the company is a lightning rod for activists who say the technology carries potential health risks. In its online history, Monsanto calls itself "a relatively new company" that shares "the name and history of a company that was founded in 1901" but today "is focused on agriculture and supporting farmers around the world."
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progressoid
(50,032 posts)Pretty sure they don't do that anymore.
I used to drive a Ford. I didn't think, "gosh I hate driving this because Henry Ford was an anti-Semite".
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)progressoid
(50,032 posts)This could be bigger than I could have imagined.